Pretoria - A war of words erupted among informal traders in Marabastad, where city mayor Solly Msimanga was scheduled to address them on their burning issues.
Traders affiliated to Unified Tshwane Informal Traders were set to meet with Msimanga to air their grievances.
Chief among these was their unhappiness with the bad treatment they claimed to have received under former mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa.
They claimed that under Ramokgopa, they were kept at an arm’s length and only members of the Tshwane Barekisi Forum stood to benefit from the city’s programmes.
Their leader, Vincent Matjeng, said: “Barekisi are making noise because they heard that the system is going to change. It is no longer going to benefit the few, but everybody.”
Matjeng said his fellow traders wanted Msimanga to address alleged threats that the city would remove them from their Marabastad trading spots.
The meeting had to be abruptly stopped when members of the two organisations exchanged heated words.
The mayor was whisked away.
Barekisi traders defended their leader Shoes Maloka, who was accused by the other group of not representing the issues of all city traders.
Maloka was accused of having recruited the Barekisi traders to disturb the meeting.
The Unified Tshwane members said they invited Msimanga because they wanted him to clarify the position of the city on the issue of trading licences. They also wanted to know how the Tshwane Market had benefited the informal traders.
Barekisi secretary Mary Ngema flatly denied that Barekisi was favoured by Ramokgopa.
Pretoria News